The STAR Training mission is to strengthen the capacity of caregivers, leaders, and organizations to address trauma, break cycles of violence, and build resilience. Minnesota Peacebuilding Leadership Institute is fulfilling this mission in Minnesota and beyond.

STAR Trainings have empowered thousands of leaders, professionals, caregivers, and layperson to promote healing, revitalize their communities, and stop cycles of victimhood and violence.

98% of STAR graduates rated the trainings as “Very Good” to “Excellent” and 100% increased their confidence to appropriately aid and assist when their communities face traumatic circumstances and indicated they will recommend the STAR trainings to others. The STAR Training teaches practical alternatives to revenge to be trauma-informed and resilience-oriented when confronted with individual and community trauma.

STAR objectives:

By the end of the STAR training you will have:

1. Distinguished between various types of trauma and responses to trauma (both positive and negative) and related it to your individual, community, and societal history.

2. Examined the links between unhealed trauma and cycles of victimhood and violence and described how you have seen these cycles operate in your own situation.

3. Studied the trauma healing model used at STAR, analyzed it in light of your own experiences, and identified ways to integrate it into your current work.

4. Examined or practiced ways to build resilience and accompany individuals or groups on the healing journey through identifying personal and systemic interventions and rituals.

Daily schedule of this STAR training:Monday September 16 8:30pm-4:30pmTuesday September 17 8:30am-4:30pmWednesday September 18 8:30am-4:30pmThursday September 19 8:30am-4:30pmFriday September 20 8:30am-12noon

By attending this 4 1/2-day evidence-based academic and experiential education training, you’ll join more than 6,000 participants from 65 countries who have been equipped with strategies for handling post-traumatic stress and leading others beyond traumatic events, informed by the latest trauma healing researchfrom the fields of neuropsychology, restorative justice, conflict transformation, peacebuilding, and religion/spirituality. The curriculum was developed by internationally-renowned faculty and training staff of the Center for Justice and Peacebuilding at Eastern Mennonite University. The STAR Training alumni include 2011 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Leymah Gbowee and the recently elected President of Somalia Hassan Sheikh Mahamud.

To maximize the STAR Training experience the training is limited to 25 trainees.

To avoid the online processing fee, please contact the MPLI office at STAR.Mpls@gmail.com and request registration for payment by check via regular mail.

The STAR Training in Minnesota is sponsored by the Minnesota Peacebuilding Leadership Institute www.mnpeace.org a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Scholarship assistance for the STAR training is available to ensure economic diversity at each training. Please contact Dr. Minter at STAR.Mpls@gmail.com or 612-377-4660 for a scholarship application now.

27 Professional Continuing Education Credits (CEs) are available for an additional $60 payable by check.

The Minnesota Board of Marriage and Family Therapy as approved this program for 27 continuing education hours for LMFT professionals with the Approval #: CE:2013-006.

The Minnesota Board of Behavioral Health and Therapy has approved this activity for 27 continuing education hours for LPC and LPCC professionals with the approval number 2013.CE.009.

The Minnesota Board of Behavioral Health and Therapy has approved this activity for 27 continuing education hours for LADC professionals with the approval number 2013.CE.ADC.003.

The Minnesota Peacebuilding Leadership Institute has been approved by the Minnesota Board of Social Work to sponsor continuing education with the CE Provider Approval Number: CEP-634. 29 CEs are available for social workers.

This activity has been designed to meet the continuing education requirements according to the Minnesota Board of Nursing for 27 continuing education hours.

This activity has been approved by the Minnesota Board of Psychology for 27 continuing education hours with the Board Log #201301.122 .

Once your registration and tuition are received, additional training materials will be sent to you. During the training snacks, beverages, and four lunches are provided. If you have questions, please contact:: STAR.Mpls@gmail.com or 612-377-4660.

Cancellation Policy: Refunds, less a $30 administrative fee, will be given if written cancellation is received from the registrant by August 5, 2013. No tuition refund is offered after August 5, 2013. Transfer of tuition to another STAR training in Minnesota is granted if written request is received by September 2, 2013. Refunds or transfers are not available for no-shows.

The STAR Training Objectives and Guidelines

Welcome to The STAR Training! We are delighted that you are interested in joining us to interact, learn, and grow together. During many STAR trainings, trainees come from different countries and from various parts of the United States. We will represent different political leanings, cultural practices, religious traditions and understandings of spirituality and spiritual practices. The STAR Training originated at the Center for Justice and Peacebuilding at Eastern Mennonite University. Mennonites are a historic peace (Christian) church denomination which is neither Catholic nor Protestant. The STAR Training is not a religious program and warmly welcomes people from all backgrounds.

As you can imagine, this rich diversity makes a dynamic learning environment as we explore issues of trauma, security, justice and peacebuilding and relate it to our own contexts. In order to create an optimal learning environment, please take time to read the following understandings about the week, beginning with the course objectives.

1.STAR Training course objectives:

By the end of the STAR training course, you will have: a. Distinguished between various types of trauma and responses to trauma (both positive and negative) and relate it to your individual, community, and societal history. b. Examined the links between unhealed trauma and cycles of victimhood and violence and described how you have seen these cycles operate in your own situation. c. Studied the trauma healing model used at STAR, analyzed it in light of your experiences, and identified ways to integrate it into your current work. d. Examined or practiced ways to build resilience and accompany individuals and groups on the healing journey through identifying personal and systemic interventions and rituals.

2. STAR recognizes that trauma affects body, mind, and spirit and addresses all of these aspects.Trauma hits us where we are most vulnerable and makes chaos out of the order of our lives. Healing processes need to address body, mind and spirit. As human beings, it is normal for those coming from a spiritual tradition to seek comfort and reassurance from their faith at such times or to address deep questions of meaning. All of us are aware of the religious tensions that exist in our world today. Your STAR group will likely be a microcosm of this world and we see it as a rich opportunity to build bridges of understanding.

3. STAR is conducted as a multi-cultural, multi-faith gathering. This is different than conducting the sessions as an interfaith or intercultural seminar (see definitions below.) It means each of person is given the safety and space to interact with the content of STAR freely using the language of his/her own culture and faith tradition or spiritual practice. We ask that you exercise respect and sensitivity in this and at all times, speak only for yourself.

We have also found that, given the diversity of people who come to STAR, many issues, both individual and structural, could be used as case studies of trauma and the resulting cycles of victimhood, oppression, and violence. Because of the complexity, long history, and emotional intensity of such issues, getting centered on any one could result in diversion from the primary objectives for the week and jeopardize the learning atmosphere for others.

Therefore, for the emotional safety of the group, we ask that STAR not be used as a platform for the promotion of a particular theological, ideological, or political issue.

Multi-faith: a situation where persons of different faiths are present in one setting

Multi-cultural: of or relating to or including several cultures

Interfaith:activities that involve an interaction between different faiths such as dialoguing, praying, marrying, or working on joint projects.

Intercultural: studies of a large number of cultures, or studies that try to identify dimensions that are not culture specific: cultural dimensions applicable for all cultures.

4. STAR is an educational event. Many STAR trainees have found the week to be therapeutic, but STAR is not designed to be therapy. The experiential exercises are to illustrate ways of working in communities affected by trauma. The academic input is educational in nature. Neither should be used as diagnostic or professional treatment tools. Any concerns you might have about psychological issues should be discussed with a qualified mental health professional. If you have questions about this during the week, please discuss them with STAR staff.

Following from these understandings, we offer the following guidelines for the Training week:

a. See the week as an opportunity to stretch and grow, owning that many of us have much to learn about other people’s cultures and faith b. Speak for yourself rather than being prescriptive for the group c. Share who you are, but refrain from theological, cultural and philosophical debates and proselytizing d. Use the “ouch, then educate” principle if someone says something that offends or hurts us (e.g. “Ouch, making that generalization about Africans, Muslims, etc. reinforces tired, outdated stereotypes. In fact……)e. Assume that no one in the group is out to deliberately hurt or degrade our faith or our peoplef. Tell personal stories to illustrate why you feel a certain way about something controversial rather than making general statements or pronouncementsg. Ask rather than make statements about another’s culture or faith (e.g. “I understand that Hindus Am I correct?” “Is it true that in the US you …?”)

Again, a warm welcom to The STAR Training! Please feel free to consult with STAR facilitators and staff with concerns or questions anytime. We look foward to a good experience together.

STAR staff reserves the right to ask a participant to withdraw from the training early if, based on our experience and judgment, his/her conduct jeopardizes the emotional safety of that individual and/or the group.Prior to asking a participant to leave, we will: * Speak privately to the person, identifying the behavior(s) creating a lack of safety for others and giving a verbal reminder of the policy above, * Provide a referral to a local trauma counselor for further discussion, * If mutual understanding cannot be reached, as a last resort and with regret, ask the individual to leave and offer referral assistance in their home area.

Our mission is to instigate, train, and support racially, sexually, ethnically, culturally, religiously, and economically diverse individuals and organizations to become trauma-informed, resilience-oriented, restorative justice-focused empowering communities in Minnesota, the USA, and around the world.

For additional information, please contact us atinfo@mnpeace.org and find us on social media as @MNPeacebuilding